The First Midnight Spell Read Free Page B

to walk over to Pru’s home. Her family was amiable, and would not mind unexpected company. Elizabeth longed to pour out the story of how she had finally spoken with Nat for a while alone.
    Laughter rang from the Godwins’ cottage as Elizabeth walked up; she had to pound on the door to be heard over it. Apparently the littlest children had tied some feathers to the end of a stick, and the entire family was taking turns teasing the cat with it so that she would leap in the air, twisting like a mad thing, in the delight of hunting nothing. Though Pru was, as usual, laughing more than all the rest, she quickly excused herself to sit outside in the moonlight with Elizabeth.
    No sooner had Elizabeth begun her story than Pru’s face fell. At first Elizabeth paid this no attention; she knew that Pru still considered the First Laws unbreakable, and thought Elizabeth should pay attention to some other boy. Yet as she went on, Pru looked more and more stricken—and when Elizabeth said the words New Barton , she actually clasped her hands together.
    Irritated, Elizabeth said, “Oh, stop trying not to make a face. You want to fuss, so, go ahead.”
    â€œI don’t want to fuss at you. Really I don’t. It’s just—” Pru had to swallow hard. “Elizabeth, you know why Nathaniel Porter likes going to New Barton, don’t you?”
    â€œHe gets to trade. I suppose he likes seeing new places, too, though I don’t understand why. And he’s so good with horses. Surely he likes to ride.”
    â€œThat may all be true, but that’s not why Nat’s been smiling so much lately.”
    Suspicion dawned within Elizabeth, shedding harsh light on the dreams she’d hidden in shadow. “What do you mean?”
    Pru’s eyes could no longer meet Elizabeth’s gaze. “The preacher over there—Reverend Hornby—he has a daughter a year or two older than us. Her name is Rebecca. Nat’s been courting her.”
    It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. “How do you know that?”
    â€œI was talking with John a few days ago,” she said. Pru’s face lit up at the mention of the boy she favored, and for a moment Elizabeth could have slapped her for feeling happy while Elizabeth’s own dreams were falling apart. “He knows. Nat and the other boys talk about it amongst themselves. Word has it he plans to ask for her hand soon, bring her back here to be married.”
    â€œIf that’s so, then why didn’t you tell me?”
    â€œI never could find the words. Besides—Elizabeth, you couldn’t marry Nat no matter what. You know that; you’ve always known it! So I always told myself you weren’t letting yourself get carried away. It’s only been these past couple of days that I’ve realized just how much you care for Nat.”
    Elizabeth tried to imagine it—his walking away from her, time after time, to ride to New Barton and pay court to some other girl. It felt too sickening to be real.
    Pru put her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders; Elizabeth was too stunned to shrug it away. “Oh, Elizabeth, I’m sorry. I know it must hurt, wanting someone you can’t be with. But you’ve got to put it behind you. Have yourself a good cry, then think about other things. Like that new spell you wanted to try, or—or some other fellow in town. Roger Brooke’s getting rather handsome, don’t you think?”
    Pru must assume I’m as stupid as her cat, Elizabeth thought. She believes that she can twitch a new set of feathers, and I’ll go leaping at that instead. To think that Pru claimed to love Jonathan Hale! She didn’t know the first thing about love, if she thought it could be set aside so easily.
    Elizabeth would have said as much, too, had they both not heard footsteps coming up the hill. They straightened to see a shadow taking shape in the night. It was the Widow